2008 will be the year of the Beijing Olympics, and the world focuses its eyes on China in August. Given the importance of China’s growing economy, the political and commercial developments in that country will be watched eagerly. The Olympic torch relay will commence in Athens in March, and work its way through many parts of the world before finishing in Beijing.
Australian troops are scheduled to start withdrawing from Iraq in June. The planners of the Iraq invasion seem to have focused on toppling Saddam Hussein to the exclusion of planning a viable exit strategy, so foreign troops are still keeping the fragile peace in Iraq several years later. Many people will be hoping for a more peaceful 2008 in Iraq.
In November the next US presidential elections will finally be held. At this stage it is very difficult to predict who the final candidates will be and whether a Republican or Democrat is likely to win. The US is certainly a very different place from what it was 3 years ago, and George W Bush has found his popularity plummet while the US economy has soured. Americans will probably be looking for a very different leader next time.